On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO

These are the two main categories of actions you can undertake to optimize your site and improve its ranking. None of it is more important than another. While some website owners concentrate 70% of their attention on on-page and 30% on off-page SEO, the other can put it vice versa.

 So let us discover the difference between these strategies and what will work best for you.

What Is On-Page SEO

Basically, on-page SEO implies everything you fully have control over. All of your manipulations, in this case, concern the content of your site or its code. Here are some of the most basic examples of on-page SEO targets:

• content quality;
• keyword density;
• anchor text;
• internal links;
• HTML tags;
• URL structure;
• site performance;
• image quality, etc.

 All of this is fundamental for your further development. That is why you should concentrate solely on on-page aspects when launching your business or going through the earliest stages of your SEO journey.

What Is Off-Page SEO

As soon as you are sure you have quality content to share what deserves to be seen, you might have to think about using off-page SEO techniques. These are all the actions that you can influence only indirectly. They may include:

• link building;
• guest posting;
• blog commenting;
• social media activity;
• reviews;
• brand mentions, etc.

 With these off-page SEO instruments, you will step up your game and make your content visible to the target audience. These actions may result in Google’s seeing your account as trustworthy.

Best Off-Page SEO Techniques

1) Link Building & Guest Posting

Link building is undoubtedly a thing that people mention mostly when talking about off-page SEO. The reason is that it is actually one of the most effective tools to increase traffic to your page and improve your SE-ranking.

 In sum, a backlink is simply a link from one page to another. And it is a powerful signal for search engines that your website possesses some valuable content and is appreciated by other websites. However, not all types of links work the same way. Moreover, some of them may harm your website’s reputation.

 It is crucial to have a natural backlink profile. In this case, unnatural linking means a combination of factors that make the profile suspicious and can be banned by Google as the one that manipulates search engines. To avoid this, you should know some basic terms of your backlink strategy:

• the links come from authoritative pages;
• the links appear not isolated, but in a specific context, surrounded by relevant information;
• there is a meaningful anchor text to make the link unobtrusive;
• both dofollow and nofollow links are implemented. Dofollow links are taken into account by search engines while ranking your page, so they are more valuable. But the excess of their number can make your backlink profile unnatural. While nofollow links remain unnoticed, they still bring you desired traffic.

Guest posting is a popular way to build your natural backlink profile. You write an informative and engaging post for a blog from a relevant branch and mention your site in a context.

 A tricky part of this process is to find reliable blogs. Luckily, certain services do that job for you, and you can simply submit a guest post, get natural links: dofollow vs. nofollow backlinks effortlessly.

2) Brand Mentions

Google counts both linked brand mentions (express links) and linkless mentions (implied links). Backlinks always relate to express links and have more value for your SEO strategy, as they are clickable and bring more referral traffic.

 However, if your brand is mentioned without a direct hyperlink, Google takes it into account as well as linked mentions. So, they are also a huge ranking factor and can contribute to your website’s reputation.

There are several ways in which you can get brand mentions:

• guest posting;
• blogger outreach;
• being a guest on podcasts, etc.

 Another type of brand mentions is NAP citations. Based upon its name (NAP = Name, Address, Phone), it implies mentioning your business along with its name, location, and phone number.

3) Social Media/Influencer Marketing

You cannot overestimate the impact of SMM in your off-page SEO strategy. It is a highly beneficial tool to grab your audience’s attention and boost your website’s traffic. Make sure your brand has its profile on social media platforms.

 Such an approach will make you noticeable and more accessible to your target audience. Choose platforms wisely, depending on your brand’s purpose: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. (do not forget to track social media activities).

The critical thing to remember is that your content shouldn’t be identical everywhere. Be creative and flexible, and the audience will appreciate your effort. In general, social media can become an efficient way to spread shareable content and win your readers’ or viewers’ trust and confidence.

 On social media branding platforms, it is possible to connect with your audience and the influencers from your branch. These connections will empower your online reputation and spread your influence.

 Subscribe to popular brands, encourage them to share your content, and mention your business. In this way, you will introduce yourself to a broader public and learn from social media gurus’ experience.

4) Customer Service

Of course, you can launch your strategies and then just update them regularly and fill the website with new content. But people appreciate those brands who constantly keep in touch with their customers so that it may become a considerable contribution to your progress.

This step includes the following aspects:

• always monitor users’ activityon your website or social media profiles and respond actively and timely;
• be friendly to your visitors, make politeness and openness the main features of your communication;
• be expert in your answers, satisfy your audience’s interest and meet their questions professionally;
• even if you don’t have an appropriate solution, make sure you care about customers’ comfort and propose alternatives.

 Responsive social media presence will demonstrate your thoughtfulness and efforts that you put into your product or service. In return, you will get public appreciation, which is so vital for your reputation and authority.

Conclusion

Now, you know what off-page SEO is and how to use it in your strategy. Combined with improving your content, you will get excellent and long-lasting results. It is important to remember that there is no “perfect mix” of on- and off-page SEO activity. The Best Free SEO Tools

 You will need both of them at any stage of your website development. Create relevant content, refresh the existing one, follow some trends you like, improve your page, and keep in touch with your audience, and work on building and maintaining your brand’s authority.

As you can see, all of this requires a lot of time and effort. But you will never regret it if you put your soul into this thing and love what you do because love is always visible and appreciated.